Living as Citizens of God’s Kingdom
For some time, I have been fascinated by the Kingdom of God, what it is (and isn’t), how much of it we can experience now (before we get to heaven) and what life might look like as we live within it. The theme is important to me because it was important to Jesus. The phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ and equivalent expressions (eg ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ and ‘His Kingdom’) occurs about 80 times in the teachings of Jesus recorded in the gospels, making it the main theme of His teaching.
His Kingdom is literally the King’s domain (King-dom), where He rules and reigns. Kingdom life is essentially about the fullness of His presence – ultimately in heaven for eternity. But how much of His Kingdom can we experience in this life? To answer this question, a good place to start is with the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples:
Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
Very familiar I’m sure, but have you ever stopped to think about the words? It is quite a prayer! We are asking ‘our Father in Heaven’ to bring His Kingdom – His rule and reign – to earth. In His Kingdom, His will prevails and He wants the same ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ What might His Kingdom coming to earth look like?
Jesus said, ‘The enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I have come that you might have life in all its fullness (rich and satisfying life)(John 10.10). The Greek word for ‘life’ here is zoe, referring to your spirit life (as opposed to bios, your physical life). Full life is fundamentally life in relationship with God where He is no longer a stranger to us. A more accessible word for ‘Salvation’ would be freedom. Father God wants you to live in freedom and joy. That freedom can include physical healing (freedom from sickness) and emotional healing (freedom from oppression and torment).
If God now lives in you because you opened the door of your life and welcomed Him in (see Revelation 3.20), then you are (among many things) a son or daughter of your Heavenly Father (John 1.12), an heir with Christ (Romans 8.17), a citizen of His Kingdom (Ephesians 2.19) but no ordinary citizen, because you are also His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5.20). All of that is quite a privilege, but it’s also a whole lot of responsibility! Are you a good ambassador for His Kingdom, or representative? Do you represent God well to a needy world – literally re-present Him? Jesus is our example of how to re-present Him.
In a series of blogs, I want to explore the A to Z of Kingdom life. I will literally start at A and end at Z (and yes, I have got a Q, an X and a Z – but you’ll have to wait a while for those)! There will be more than one entry for some of the letters. I am not a theologian, but I am a Christian (quite long in the tooth!) and a church pastor who has been very intentionally exploring this theme for a number of years now. The blogs will (I hope) be simple and practical – a bit of teaching from the Bible, a real life story or two to illustrate what I am saying, a key verse, a bit of challenge, a prayer and (sometimes) a recommended book for further reading on the topic. I would love you to come on the journey with me.
Here’s a good news story (testimony) from 2007 to get us started…
Angie arrived home in the UK from France following a skiing accident. She had three fractured vertebrae and injured knee ligaments. She was attended by a medical unit at the airport in France. She flew back over the weekend. She was flat on her back in bed. She felt spaced out because of the morphine she was on. She didn’t even like anyone touching the bed because it was painful. Her knee hurt more than her back. My wife and I visited and prayed for healing. The next day, her knee was about 75% better. Angie did not take any more morphine! There was also a great improvement in her back. She was able to get out of bed. Angie came to church the following Sunday – she drove herself! She thought ‘how mad is this!!’ Having heard about her accident, the headmaster of her school couldn’t believe she was walking around!
Oracles of Os 